1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus for guiding and cooling partially cooled castings in a continuous casting plant.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In continuous casting plants of the type to which this invention pertains, the hot metal casting or strand emerging from the mold moves along a strand guide formed by guide plates which bear against the casting and hence are subjected to very high temperatures. One such device for guiding the casting is disclosed, for example, in German Offenlegungsschrift No. 2,024,108. In the strand guide described therein, the guide plates are pressed by a pressure medium against the casting and are cooled by water sprayed on their inside surfaces. One disadvantage of such a device is that the contact pressure applying mechanism is relatively complicated. In addition, the water sprayed on the inside of the guide plates is often inadequate to cool them to a sufficiently low temperature so that plates, made from steel normally used in such applications, wear relatively rapidly. Furthermore, because in the device shown in the German Offenlegungsschrift, the guide plates are supported by point shaped supports, they must be relatively thick which renders cooling from the inside more difficult and, therefore, increases wear of the plates during operation. We have invented a strand guiding apparatus of a relatively simple construction which successfully avoids these disadvantages and in which the guide plates are intensively cooled.